


The Day the Earth Stood Still

by jedjubeed



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcoholism, F/F, Flashbacks, M/M, Mentions of Murder, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Pay attention to the tags, Recovery, Suicide Attempt, W.D. Gaster (Undertale) - Freeform, a lot of dark pasts, chara/frisk if you squint, i value the fact that sans is a popular comedian, i'm trying out writing psychological horror, it's really only hardcore if you really look into it, sans needs a drink, self hate, self help, taking a whole new route here, this is pretty hardcore?, uhhh enjoy????
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-05-23 13:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6117660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedjubeed/pseuds/jedjubeed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chara and Sans befriend each other as Chara directs Frisk through thousands of runs and resets, and Sans gets fed up with every death. Between Frisk's no-mercy runs and Flowey's personal revenge to Sans, he's left wondering what he can do to to regain the power to reset.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Ghost Child

**Author's Note:**

> My first Undertale work, there'll be a lot of POV changes.

Sans let out a huff as he glanced towards the sky of the Underground. He noted that it was going to snow again soon, before he glanced to see a child in the road before him.  _Chara,_ his mind said. 

"Well look who it is!" Chara said, "The comedian."

"Can I help you?" Sans replied, stopping in his tracks to give the child a sarcastic grin.

"I'm just making my way through Snowdin. Looks like I just  _happened_ to run into you!" 

"I don't think all this was an accident," Sans huffed.

"You don't? Then, what do you suppose it could have been?"

"I also don't think I want to know."

"Heh... What? Do you think it was just to kill you?" Chara crossed their arms over the striped sweater. "I'm shocked, Sans."

"It wouldn't be unlike you,"

"I haven't killed anyone here.... yet. I haven't even pulled my knife on you! Besides, I'm surprised you haven't tried killing me yet."

"I prefer to assume guilty until proven innocent, buddy. And you haven't proved yourself guilty enough."

"Enough?" Chara made finger quotes as they said the word. "What do you mean by enough?"

"Enough to have a horrible time," Sans shrugged, before changing the topic. "Why aren't you at home with your family?"

Chara giggled. "I'm still a child. I get bored. Besides, why aren't you with your brother?"

"Go take a walk," Sans answered. "He's at training."

"Heh... guess it's just me and you, then! Have you seen Frisk around?"

"No."

"Well then I guess I'll just have to keep pestering you until the  _end of time._ " 

"I'm alright with that, kid."

"What a surprise coming from you, Sans."

"You know it'd only be until Frisk resets."

"What if the timeline never ends, Sans? Actually," Chara shrugged as they leaned in. "That'd be a blessing for you. How long did the last timeline even last, Sans?"

"Two weeks."

"Frisk gets bored easier than me, I'm surprised they're never happy with the 'Happy Ending'." Chara laughed. "If  _I_ was in charge of the resets, everything would be  _sooooo_ much cooler!"

Sans narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"I'd fully finish a route!" Chara laughed again. They seemed to be in a good mood. "You know, I wasn't the one who STARTED the no-mercy route! I just ended it." They shrug, rocking on their heels. "Besides, I'd let the 'Happy Ending' continue, instead of resetting it after a WEEK."

"You know," He sighed, looking back up to the clouds heavy with precipitation. "There's a certain comfort that comes with being utterly powerless." This caused a groan from Chara.

"Why would  _that_ be the case? You have control of  _everything!_ Anything can happen!" Sans looked back down to the child, rolling his eyes.

"I used to be in charge of the resets, long ago. I wouldn't expect a child to know how to handle it. It's really not fun, watching everyone die every single time. Frisk resets because they know something is going to happen, and they don't want to witness it. You're stuck in place, and you can't change what people think about you because everything you ever do gets erased." Sans just about spat the last word out, trying to get past the child. Chara sidestepped to cut him off before he could leave, and they were obviously far from done discussing it.

"Frisk just resets because they can't let go of anything. If we couldn't, things would actually continue. It's not like I could reset when bad things happened to me."

"Yes, but the responsibility that comes with it sucks."

"Y'know... I'm jealous of everyone that doesn't remember all the resets. You don't have to go through all those emotions, you just.... forget." This made Sans nod in agreement.

"I can only imagine what it's like to do that as a child."

"Hey, buddy. There's a child  _right in front of you_ , I had the power to reset a couple times. Frisk and I are basically partners in this! But that was only because the kid let me. But, Frisk needs to learn.  _You can't run away from your problems."_  

"Frisk is learning."

"How many resets have there been, Sans? How many times has Frisk reset?"

He shuffled his feet awkwardly in the snow, letting out a breath. "... Four thousand, twenty three."

"Do you  _really_ think they're going to learn?"

"Chara, how many do you think have been no-mercy?"

"Let me see...." Chara began counting on their fingers, before Sans cut them off.

"More than three thousand. That's how many times I've had to watch my brother, and all my friends die. All because you got that idea in their head." Chara paused, blinking comically in surprise.

"Three.... thousand..-"

"Fifty nine."

"I- Sans, I only had them do the first one. Why would that be the majority? How many were pacifist?"

"Nine hundred sixty three."

"They.... Sans, what's nine hundred sixty three plus three thousand fifty nine?"

"Four thousand, twenty two."

"They had one neutral run?"

"Soon enough, the power will move on. Trust me, Chara. Their resets are nothing compared to the ones I racked up." Chara raised a brow in curiosity. 

"And how many did you manage?"

Sans pretended to count. "Two million, give or take a few hundred. Most of them were auto-resets, though. You know, the ones where you die and then you just wake up and it's been reset." Chara's eyes blew open with this information, and they quietly apologized. 

"Man, it's awkward getting to know someone who you've killed like a thousand times."

Their conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence, as they both thought things over. Sans moreso, as he'd shared more than he probably should have. They both stood there, staring at various objects. It seemed like it went on for eternity before the silence was broken by a wavering statement.

"You know, Sans... I'm actually dreading the next no-mercy run. I kill people I love... and, Frisk is probably doing one right now. I know they blame me for it."

Sans didn't answer, just turned this string of words over in his head. He dreaded the next no-mery as well, he didn't think he could handle seeing Papyrus die again.

 _It would be nice, if I just got used to it..._ His mind seemed to whisper. He ignored it, and walked past Chara. He figured he'd go to Alphys, and ask if she could keep an eye on Frisk. He glanced back briefly, seeing Chara head in the direction of the Ruins. After that, he'd probably go to Grillby's. A nice, slow Pacifist run seemed great right about now, but he knew it wasn't going to happen.  _Make do with what you have._ He scoffed at himself, deciding to take a shortcut to the lab.

****

Chara focused on the steady  _crunch, crunch, crunch_ of their feet on the fresh snow. It was something peaceful, Snowdin. Such a cozy town once filled them with determination, but now it just filled the child with nostalgia. They soon spotted Papyrus heading up the path, instinct telling Chara to hide in the bushes. They were quite used to it at this point in time, though they weren't sure why they decided to stay hidden from people they knew would forget. They sat in wait there, eventually nodding off.

By the time the child had awoken, Papyrus was gone. There seemed to be a trail of familiar footprints making their way alongside the path. Chara mentally cursed themselves as they crawled out from beneath the snow-clad shrub, pushing themselves up to their feet. So, Frisk had gotten past Toriel, it seems. They stayed low as they made their way through Snowdin, and into the foggy threshold into Waterfall. They made sure each step was quiet, until they spotted a shadow lumped to the ground. It must have been Sans.

****

There he sat, kneeled to the ground with the dusty, tattered red scarf wrapped around himself that used to belong to his brother. It covered the bottom half of his face, the top half concealed by the shadows created by his position. He didn't even cry at this point, but it truly was a depressing situation. He felt it was numbing.

"You know.... I hope that kid lives. That they kill Undyne, and Mettaton, and Muffet." Chara stopped in their tracks, staring down at the lump of Sans.

"Why? If you kill them, they'll come back."

"And I'll keep killing them."

"Have you ever tried killing them at the bridge?" This made Sans shift.

"Yeah. The timeline just reset back to when they walked through the door." Chara stood for a few seconds, before rubbing their face.

"I'm gonna go stalk the kid.  _Knife_ knowin' ya, Sans."

Sans let out a sarcastic laugh as he clambered up. "Bone-dry life, yanno? Still, good tibia-live."

"I'm not sharp enough to make that many puns. Anyway, later." Chara waved, before jogging down the direction of the small footprints, leaving Sans to start meandering towards the bar. He needed a good, stiff drink.


	2. MERCY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flowey is a fucking douchebag okay and it just gets worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah the fight sucks i knoooooow but it gets better

Chara sighed as they trudged along behind Frisk, through the Judgement Hall. Frisk had been ignoring them, and it was outrageous! Absolutely unacceptable. But, who was Chara to do anything about it? 

Sans stood against a pillar, one foot balanced upon the vertical surface. May as well have one last smoke before the end of the timeline, eh? His grin turned anything but friendly as soon as he saw Frisk and Chara enter, and he dropped the cigarette to stamp it out. He was more pissed than usual, and it was probably his conversation with Chara that made it so. He could hear Chara mutter a soft _Here we are_ to Frisk, and after that, Sans continued with the same dialogue put into every part of this timeline. After that, Sans tossed the first barrage of attacks.

Sans, per usual, steps out of the way of a knife slash, sending a particularly rage-inducedly strong attack out, making Frisk fly back with the impact from one of the hits of a bone attack. The drop in Frisk's HP made Sans carry on that insane glint in his expression, dodging the next attack. He noted that the kid was using strong attacks to wear him out faster, though it did nothing. They dodged each others attacks like that for quite a while, before Sans paused at his turn. He let out the same spiel about wondering if someone could get better, before sparing the human.

There was a noticeable pause in Frisk's actions. It was obvious they didn't know what to do, before choosing the MERCY button. and then Spare. Suddenly, a change in dialogue. 

"You must think so," Sans rumbled out, grinning. "Because I don't." A startling twist, a cage of Gaster Blasters surrounded Frisk, completely incinerating their soul.

An almost identical chain of events went on for more than a few times, before the world went black, and he was back at his station in Snowdin. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sans stood slowly, deciding to see what his brother was up to.

He soon spotted his brother making his way down the path towards Sans, and also spotted Chara in the bushes. 

As Chara hid in the bushes, he noticed a Sans and Papyrus.

They watched as they talked inaudibly for a few seconds, before Sans hugged the taller skeleton. They stood like that for a few moments, and Chara could pick up soft mumbling in both pitches of tone from the brothers. 

It took a lot of patience from the child, not to just stand up or to move at all while the brothers chatted. They didn't care what they had to do, this was more important, and they needed to talk to Sans! Their family moment can wait. They sighed, tucking their hair behind their ears... before Sans started walking away. They heard him say he was going to Grillby's. Score! This was their chance. They crept slowly through the wooded area, making sure to keep low. 

****

Sans shuffled through the thin snow of the trail, his grin soft as he watched the slowly falling snow. Weather was a joke here in the Underground, but it wasn't a very good joke. It was just something to bring up and laugh about as a distraction when things got to their worst, and was good for breaking the ice. Underground weather was a thing of its own, with a mix of atmospheric science and straight up magic. He should probably use a pun like that some time soon. He chuckled at his own joke, though it may have looked weird to the people that couldn't read his mind. Oh well, though. Sans was known for being really weird. 

The child following him had gone unnoticed for the most part, as he walked into the bar. He said hello to all the regular customers, before taking his usual barstool. He felt a singular presence behind himself, and he tapped his fingers softly against the polished wood surface.

"Hey, Chara. What brings you here?" 

"I noticed you walk in, I have to talk with you." They hop up on the next barstool over, resting their arms on the counter to turn over to the skeleton.

"Oh yeah? What about?" He twirled the salt shaker under his finger, looking over. He saw Chara's eyes narrow at Sans' casual tone, but he couldn't help himself.

"What's the probability of a pacifist run?"

"From the previous chain of events, seventy percent. With the contrasted amounts, forty. It's more than 90% likely that there'll be a pacifist." Sans blurted out. He had a tendency to blurt out numbers if asked of him. Helpful, in very few circumstances. He saw Chara nod, before Sans actually considered what the hell he just said. Well hey, everyone's gonna live. Hopefully. Probably. Sans let out a weak laugh as the lid popped off the shaker, spilling salt all over the counter. He simply brushed it into his hand, but not knowing what to do with it, he decided to eat the salt. Sans also decided he should do that more often.

"Good to catch a break like this, huh?" Chara said, giggling at his behavior.

"Hopefully they don't reset so soon."

"Hey, how about this. I get Frisk to promise not to reset when they get bored up on the surface." Sans considered this for a moment, before grinning. 

"I like that idea, kid. Talk to them about it later, hopefully they agree. Kinda getting sick never being able to adjust to the surface." He screwed the top to the salt shaker back on, but continued to play with it. Interesting object, really. 

"Well, I'd better get going. I need Frisk to do a pacifist, so I'll try to convince them into it." Chara giggled as they got off the stool.

"Yeah? Don't scare 'em, or at least not too bad." He waved Chara off, before deciding a few moments later to leave behind them. It would be a slow day, but hopefully a day that they would make it to the surface and stay there.

****

Well, with the way this was going, it was going to be a nice pacifist run. They made it through the judgement hall with no problems, and through Asgore. All that was left, was to move their lives up to the surface. After all the struggling the monsters had made to get there, it was hard to pick up and leave the Underground like that. Most of the monsters left, but some chose to stay in the Underground atmosphere, with the simple lulling thought that the surface was available. 

Grillby had mentioned briefly to Sans that he was going to move the bar to the surface sometime soon, but not yet. So, Sans still had a reason to visit Snowdin, as nostalgic as his constant visits were. A vast majority of monsterkind had settled within a few weeks, but there were more than a few humans that were... bitter about their stay. Still, monsters had magic attacks, and though the humans had more determination, they were forced to attack with objects. Truly pitiful. But as long as Asgore was still alive, there would be (almost) no violence between the humans and the monsters. 

The surface was a nice place, but the monsters found the weather really amusing. It was _real_ weather, and most had never experienced actual weather. So, that was probably the newest joke in terms of returning to the surface. Even though none of the humans actually understood it. That just made the joke funnier, Sans thought.

Some of the monsters moved into the homes on the surface in groups of friends, as they figured out how to convert their gold into human money. Apparently, 1G was worth a lot in human culture, so most monsters were  _very_ well off.  

Sans himself moved in with Toriel, Frisk, Chara, and Papyrus. It was a smaller home, and there were only two bedrooms and two beds. So naturally, the families split. After Chara had a very long chat with their previous parents, Toriel decided to take them into her home. As well as the two brothers, she just couldn't leave her old friend and his brother to live alone in such a large community. Though, Sans knew she did it just because he mentioned always having a hard time adjusting to life with the humans. 

Undyne tended to make frequent visits to the home, making it a never-resting place. They always had something going on in the small home, and guests never seemed to stop filtering through. It was nice, though, because the skeleton knew Frisk wasn't going to reset any time soon. He knew that, with time, Frisk would lose the power to reset, and life would just keep going on.

Sans made frequent attempts not to talk at all with humans. But, human government was really weird like that, and monsters were conforming to it. Even though Sans and Toriel were simply old friends, Asgore was completely out of her life picture, so Sans supposed he would take legal custody of Frisk and Chara. Meaning, Sans could make as  _many_ dad jokes as his heart desired. But legal custody meant he had to deal with the school board as Frisk and Chara attended the education program offered. A shitty one, at that. But, Sans was expected to be polite. Kill 'em with kindness, and kill he did.

****

About a month after they'd settled into the surface and their new schedules, Sans noted that businesses run by monsters were gaining popularity. Which was absolutely wonderful, because he was tired of having to go all the way down to the Underground to get groceries. But Sans was the one with the ability to actually teleport himself down to the Underground in back in a matter of seconds, he was aways the one going down there. It was exhausting. 

This time, he went down there to catch up with his favorite bartender. Just to bathe himself in the old memories, because sometimes it was pretty nice. He slowly made his way through the cold town, shaking the snow off himself as he entered the bar... but it was empty.  _That's funny,_ he told himself, _it should be open by now._ Not even the regulars were there. Curious, he approached the bar counter. There was a singed spot on the framing of the glossy wood on the opposite side. He noted this, as he started walking around back of the counter. Grillbz shouldn't care if he went investigating the bar. Looking around to the shelves, he found nothing. He shrugged, and started walking towards the door to the back. Just under the door, there was a smear of ashes that made Sans pause for a moment.  _Maybe he set something on fire in there._ But, upon opening the door... he found ashes scattered across the floor of the kitchen, with a pair of thin glasses with the left lens cracked sitting upon one of the counters. 

He couldn't remember much of the rest of the night, but he knew that he cried a lot, and drank a lot, and came home well past midnight. He didn't even bother to get into the shared bed with his brother, instead deciding to take one of the spare blankets and sleep on the couch. Wait, did he grab a blanket? He didn't think so.

He awoke to a piercing pain in his skull, and a grinning child above him. 

"Well good morning, Sans! I see you had a wonderful night last night." Chara stated with a giggle. This made Sans grimace, and pull the blanket over his head.

"Don' wanna talk 'bout it."

"Well what's wrong, _Dad?_ You get rejected?" The sarcastic use of the name was normal for him, but the last part just make him shrink into himself. 

"Get your ma to take ya to school. Don' tell Pap, either, you li'l brat."

"Awh, I'm not a little brat." Sans could hear the amusement seeping through the false hurt.

"Yeah ya are. Shoo, don' need 'nother letter from your princ'pal." He rolled over to face the back of the couch now, to try and get back to sleep. Maybe this time he could sleep off the hangover. He forced himself to stay awake long enough to hear Chara scoff, grab their things, and leave. Good. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear i'll give you a long chapter someday trust me


	3. Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you kill a killer, the amount of murderers in the world remains constant.  
> But if you kill multiple killers, are you a hero, or have you stooped down to the bloody ashes you've created?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE IT IS YOU SINNERS  
> you have no idea how much i hate this FUCKING chapter???

Sans woke up later in the day to the smell of the late-spring air, the sound of voices, and a slam to the door. He cracked an eye open to see Toriel and the kids, and he noted it must be later in the afternoon. His headache was considerably better, so he may as well actually get up for the first time since yesterday.

He sat up, stretched his arms over his head, and moved to stand. He winced at the soft creak in his bones, before looking around. Toriel was packing the kids' lunches, while Chara was sitting there chatting Frisks ear off. He should probably step in and help Toriel, so she had time to get dinner going and then relax for a bit. He shrugged and veered into the kitchen.

"Hey, Tori. Lemme help with that." He suggested, leaning against the counter. Toriel smiled softly, as she started getting things out to make sandwiches.

"Thank you Sans, just finish these up and pack them some crackers, and you'll be done." She replied, as she turned to get more things out. He peeked into each lunchbox, before starting to make the sandwiches. He was positive he could sneak some candy in there somehow, and he was determined to. 

Just as he had put both the lunchboxes in the fridge, he heard the door open and shut again. His brother must be home. By then the two children had ran off to do something, s it was just the three adults in that part of the house. He heard Papyrus call that he was home, and offered a welcome along with Toriel. 

"Did I miss anything?" Papyrus asked, as he entered the kitchen.

"I've been asleep all day, I was just about to ask the same thing." Both brothers seemed to look over to Toriel expectantly. She only laughed softly, before responding.

"I do not think anything notable is happening that we do not already know about."

"Hey, wasn't Grillby going to move up here and run a bar? I haven't seen him around!" Sans froze as his brother said this, and decided that leaving and going to his room was a wonderful idea. Until he heard Toriel knocking on the door a few minutes later. 

"Sans? This is Toriel. Please open the door." The voice was muffled through the door. But it was unlocked.

"Just come in." He said, before letting out a discontent sigh. He heard the doorknob creak, before the light of the hallway washed into the room. Only for a few seconds, however, as she shut the door behind herself as she walked in.

"We don't know what that was about, but we are both worried about it." The concern in her voice showed, and Sans just pulled his legs up to his chest.

"He's dead." Sans mumbled, pulling his hood further down over his face.

"Grillby is?" Toriel walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, making sure to keep at a respectable distance.

"Someone just fucking walked in and killed him." _Come to think of it,_ he told himself, _it was probably Flowey. That fucking bastard._ You narrowed your eyes at nothing, your mood suddenly souring at the thought of that flower. Toriel sighed, staring at the far wall. 

"I apologize, Sans. I could tell you two were good friends, it must be hard for you." He just stared, before rubbing his face.

"I- ... I _loved_ him, Tori," He just barely breathed out. "and someone killed him." Toriel sighed sympathetically.

"Should I tell your brother about the... incident? Just so he knows not to mention it?"

"No. I have to go out and do something." He shifted to get up, before he felt a soft paw on his knee. He looked up, to see Toriel staring at him intently.

"Sans. Do not do anything daft, please."

"Trust me, Tori, if I wanted to kill myself I'd have done it by now. You don't have to worry about me." _Just your former child._ He saw Toriel hesitate, before taking her paw off to stand.

"Alright, I trust you. Be careful, okay?"

"I will." He stood up from the bed, zipping his hoodie up. That flower better be fucking prepared to have a bad time. He walked out of the room before Toriel could say anything else, and out of the house completely. Papyrus probably tried to say something, but Sans cut him off. He kept walking through the town of Ebott, before he closed his eyes, deciding to take a shortcut to Snowdin. A second or two later, and there he was. He'd have to stop taking those so often, he was getting pretty worn out from the magic consumption. 

****

Chara noticed Sans was missing late that afternoon, so they decided to ditch Frisk for a little bit. They walked into the sitting room, seeing Toriel reading one of her books.

"Ma, where'd Sans go? I need help with my math homework."

"Sans went out for a bit, honey. I can help you if you'd like."

"But, where'd he go?"

"That doesn't matter."  _The Underground._  

"Alright. Frisk is done so I'll just have them help me." Chara smiled, and then headed back down the hallway. Instead, they walked into the bathroom, and made an exit through the window.

They knew their way around Ebott well enough, so they knew where to go to make it to the mountain. Which would take about half an hour, and then making through the Ruins. That part was easy, considering all the puzzles remained deactivated. Thank the lord for Toriel's mercy. 

By the time they made it to Snowdin, they only saw the shadow of the skeleton behind a Gaster Blaster, no doubt to incinerate the flower. They winced, looking away. 

****

Sans stepped out of the alley, and he let out a disgruntled sigh as he saw the child.

"Why'd you follow me? You should be at home."

"I'm a kid. I get bored. I got curious."

"Well, that's all I needed to take care of. Go home."

"Sans, it'll take me a while to get home. You should take me home."

"Okay, but you're not gonna follow me again. Got it?"

"Maybe. Who was that you killed?" Sans remained silent to this question, simply grabbing Chara's hand to take the very same shortcut back to their front yard. He let go of their hand after that, pushing his hands back into his pockets. 

"You shouldn't sneak out like that again."

"Someone told me Grillby was killed."

"You should mind to your own business."

"Did Flowey kill Grillby?"

"You should go back inside."

"Did you kill Flowey?"

"Stop asking questions,"

"You killed my brother, didn't you, Sans?"

"..." Sans remained silent again, though he knew Chara figured it out.

"Frisk said they'd reset if something bad happened. I'll tell them to reset, and I'll make them do a pacifist run."

"You don't have to reset, kid. Everyone here is happy, I don't wanna ruin that and make it all start over."

"It's not like they'd remember it all, Sans. It'll be just like the very first time for them on the surface."

"They have lives this time. Frisk's power was almost gone, and I want them to have happy lives."

"Frisk is gonna find out, you know. We all know how good of friends you were, and they'd reset any way." 

"....Fine. Reset. This is the last one, though." He rubbed his temple, before starting to walk Chara back inside the house. He turned off to go to the sitting room, knowing Chara would immediately go and make Frisk reset. 

After about a minute, the world went black, and he was met with the familiar surroundings of Snowdin. 

 _That didn't take long,_ he thought, _hopefully they stick to the promise._  

He decided to get up from his station, and start slowly walking out towards the heart of the small town,  grinning softly at the soft  _crunch_ of the snow beneath his sneakers. He glanced into the woods, catching sight of Chara. He decided to ignore them for the time being, and just keep walking. He liked things a lot better when he did that, he realized.

Soon enough, he pushed the door open to the familiar bar, sighing contently at the amount of customers. He walked up to the bar, taking his seat as he bid a hello to the bartender.

"Hope it's cool that I stick around after hours to chat a bit with you, Grillb." He mumbled, making sure none of the other customers could hear him.

"Of course. Can I get you anything while you're here?" The bartender answered, and Sans vaguely heard Red Bird spit some bullshit about Grillby offering a glass of water, but he didn't touch the stuff. Grillby spoke in an odd manner, and not many monsters could understand him.

Fire magic was an exclusive practice to those monsters of great power. And while many could practice it, fire monsters had a certain talent. There were more than a few that didn't speak, and when they did communicate, those with the ability to translate their energy into fire magic could understand. Many still chose to use hands, so others could understand them, but Sans was one with the use of fire magic. He just didn't enjoy using it as an attack.

"Thanks, Grillb. And no thanks, I'm fine with waiting a bit." The bartender only nodded at this, before starting to wipe down the counter. Sans sighed and crossed his arms over the counter, resting his head into the crook of his elbow. He only remembered sitting like that for a few seconds, before he felt a tingling heat somewhere near the back of his skull. He lifted his head slowly, seeing that it was relatively darker, and now very empty. Grillby was standing behind Sans, wiping the area of the counter that he wasn't currently resting on.

"Sleep well?" Sans heard him ask, and he moved off the counter so the fire monster could wipe it off.

"S'pose. Sorry for falling asleep like that, I guess I was a bit _pyre_ d." Sans grinned at his lame fire pun, and he could hear Grillby crackling in amusement. Sans simply sat and watched as Grillby started cleaning off tables, before walking back over to the bar to pour Sans and himself a drink. Sans took the drink as the fire elemental sat on the stool beside him, turning a bit to face him.

"You said you needed to talk?"

"Yeah. I told you about the resets and the timelines, right?" Sans asked as he took a sip of his drink. Grillby nodded, and Sans took in a soft breath.

"The timeline was just reset. We made it to the surface, and you were gonna move your bar up, but... you were killed." Sans looked away as he mentioned this, his usual smile having dropped into a small frown as he talked. 

"Well, hopefully they don't hurt anyone this time."

"They have someone to keep them pacifist. But that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about." Sans took another sip of his drink. He noted the curious expression that Grillby was giving him. "You know, Grillb... we've been buds for a while." The skeleton tapped his fingers against the glossy wood of the counter. "And, when you died, it was really the first time that I remember you dying. You know how well I take things like that. And uh... I realized some... emotions." Sans starting to make hand gestures as he talked, however vague they were. 

"Emotions about what?" Grillby asked, taking a small sip from the glass of whiskey in front of him. Sans looked down to the table at his question, taking a large draw from his glass.

"You probably think I'm really weird for it, but uh... you're a good guy, Grillb. And I uh... I guess what I'm trying to do is ask you out. On a date. But I did it really awkwardly, and I really like you. So take that as you will." Sans practically winced as he finished off, waiting in anticipation for the other's reaction. But Grillby only nodded, took another sip of his drink. He seemed to be in deep thought. "I mean- you can say no. and we can just forget about everything and keep being friends, of you want." God, Sans, you were just making it worse.

"I don't see why I should turn you down, Sans." This made the skeleton pause, and look up to the other. He saw Grillby smiling down at him, and he couldn't help but stare for a few seconds before grinning back. He felt a radiating warmth around his back, and looked to see that the bartender now had an arm resting around his shoulders. Sans chuckled, and leaned into the other. He was pretty glad Frisk had reset. Hopefully Chara could keep them on the right track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where Chara stops being a major character.


	4. Cologne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to 2 Atoms In A Molecule by Noah And the Whale, and got a wonderful idea. Also, after I got better from getting sick (why i was gone), i hit writer's block. WHoops\
> 
> most of this chapter is me tiredly ramblin about stuff ok

_It never works out,_ Sans heard his mind whisper.

"Yeah, but this time I'll make sure it works out," He responded, now lying in his bed. It was midmorning. His date was this afternoon, so he had some time to kill.  _You said that the last time, and the time before that. What'll make it any different, hmm?_ "Oh, trust me. This time I'll put an active effort into making sure it works out."  _You seem so confident in yourself, but I think we both know what's going to happen._ This made Sans scoff, now outwardly scowling at the ceiling. "Yeah, I know what's going to happen. It's going to work."  _And this is your last chance to make it work, Sans._ "Heh, trust me. I've got this down to a science, buddy."

"Sans, who are you talking to?" He heard the loud voice from beyond his door, and he looked over tiredly.

"Just talking to myself, don't worry about me."

"Alright! I am going to make spaghetti for dinner tonight, will you be home?" Papyrus said. Sans took a moment to calculate the probability of him being home that night. If the date was successful, he might be with Grillby for a while. If it was awkward, he could use the fact that Papyrus wanted him home as an excuse to leave. But, then again, he probably would stay anyway if it was awkward. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Sans, did you fall asleep while I was talking? I asked if you would be home tonight for dinner!"

"Yeah, I heard you, just got lost in my head. I was planning on hanging out with someone, so I might not make it home. Sorry, bro."

"Oh! It's quite alright, I'd rather have you getting out of the house! Have fun with your friend." He let out a breath as he heard Papyrus walking away. Well, that was easier than he expected. He stood from his bed, looking down at the clothes he wore every day. Grungy, stained, worn. He probably wouldn't get away with wearing these. Well, maybe the jacket. The jacket would stay.

He gently shouldered it off, tossing it onto his bed. After that was off, he took off his white t-shirt. He probably had a newer one in his closet, so he started digging through that. He soon came across an off-white turtleneck, without any holes or stains. It practically still had the tags on it. Practically. He let out a soft chuckle of triumph as he replaced his white shirt with the sweater, then shouldering his hoodie back on. He looked pretty good. He returned to his closet, letting out a hum in thought as he started digging through it again. He thought he got a new pair of sneakers recently, so they'd be somewhere in there-ah. There they were. He yanked them out from under the pile of clothes and other miscellaneous objects that had gotten tossed into his closet, before pulling them on. Back to the small (cracked) mirror he had. He looked pretty nice.

He walked out of his room once he'd collected everything, a slightly happier smile on his face. This wasn't anywhere near the first time he'd grabbed a date, especially Grillby, but he still enjoyed every second of every single first date he had with him. Unnaturally so, he enjoyed the dates he had with other monsters, but with the fire elemental... it was something different. Something special, that he could never get tired of. But, he didn't think he wanted to get tired of it. Another factor was, no matter what timeline or however many times he did it, the first date with the bartender was always different. They've had picnics in Waterfall (umbrellas included), taken walks through Snowdin, been to the MTT Diner, taken strolls through Hotland, and they always ended up back at Grillby's apartment above the bar, with a glass of wine each while they sat on his couch, just talking the night away. And it was always spectacular.

He shook his head fondly at the memories as he walked out of the house, deciding to take some time in walking to the bar. It was still pretty early, so he'd still be on shift, but Sans could wait. He could tell it'd be a bit awkward at first, but what first date isn't awkward? First dates for people who were nerds. He pushed the door of the bar open, shaking the snow off of the shoulders of his coat as he stepped in. As he walked to the front, he bid everyone their hello's. He was a pretty popular item in the bar, seeing as he was almost always there. He just had a life outside of it, so it was common for him to be in and out of the place. So, naturally, he had his spot at the bar that no one dared sit at. Even first-timers, seeing as everyone would warn them that, even if no one was there, that seat was permanently occupied. It was nice, being able to walk in and sit down at the same place every time.

As he sat, he waved to the bartender, before resting his arms on the bar counter. He didn't say anything, for fear of fucking the night up the moment he stepped in. He could sense that Grillby was watching him as he cleaned glasses, but Sans watched the bartender back. They sat like that for a few moments, Sans hunched over the counter and the fire elemental wiping off the whiskey tumbler in his hands, just gazing at each other. It was hardly anything past an acknowledging gesture, if not a knowing look. What they knew, they did not know. To Sans, it probably felt like ten minutes they were locked in that state, even if it was just about ten seconds. To Grillby, it'd probably feel like an indefinite amount of time, only to be measured by how long it felt to him and him only. Sometimes Grillby wondered what time was. It was measuring the world based on what was, what will be, what is, what could be, what could never be, and what could have been. And then you put that into numbers, into rods that ticked along, each tick winding up for a bigger rod to tick. Everything was all so strange, if you just put time into it.

After those ten seconds, however, Sans spoke. Quietly, but he spoke.

"So, Grillb, when's your shift end?" Sans looked down at the table as he asked this.

"Two hours," Came the reply. Sans nodded at this. Only had to wait two hours, he didn't have a shift between then. So, naturally, he decided to take his phone out to mess around on it. Since he was a skeleton, and didn't have flesh to operate a touch-screen phone, Sans had a flip-phone. He was practically at the height of technology. 

But, after a good half an hour or so, his phone rang. He didn't bother to check the caller ID, before he pressed the Enter button to answer the call, holding it up to wherever his ears would be.

"Hello?" Sans said. 

"H-Hey Sans! I-it's me, Alphys." Said Alphys. 

"Oh, hey Alph. What's up?"

"W-Well, I was talking t-to Asgore! A-a-and uh... I think we'd better carry on t-this conversation in p-p-person, if that's okay w-with you?" Sans had to think that over for a few seconds. 

"Sheesh Alph. No offense to ya, but now isn't the best time. Is tomorrow okay? I'll call you back whenever I decide to get up and around."

"O-oh! I'm s-sorry. B-but! T-t-that works, yes. W-We were planning on uh... meeting up t-t-tomorrow to talk about it, anyway."

"Alright, I'll talk to ya later. Bye."

"B-bye!"

And then she hung up.

And Sans put his phone in his pocket.

He looked up, to see Grillby giving him a questioning look.

"I don't know myself, but it has to do with the Royal Scientist and the King of the Underground. I'd say tomorrow is a pretty important day." Sans chuckled softly. "But we don't have to worry about it right now." Grillby only nodded in assurance, before continuing to wipe off glasses and re-organize liquor bottles and do whatever it was he did behind that counter. Sans sat, hunched onto the bar counter, staring at his reflection in the glossy wood surface as he thought over everything. Alphys called him, and she sounded more stutter-y than usual. She was probably just getting out of a breakdown, or about to have one. Nice. But, why would Asgore be included into it? Unless-

_No._

Okay, Grillby was giving him a concerned look, he clearly needed to pull himself together.He decided to focus his attention to the various bottles, jars, and assorted items lined on the wall beind Grillby, hopefully to stop sweating so much. How did skeletons even sweat? Well, they didn't, but apparently Sans did. Weird.

Said skeleton was trying to wipe the sweat off his face, but he was just too sweaty. So, he stood up, excused himself, and walked outside. Thank god he didn't live in Hotland any more. He sighed as he leaned against the building, nodding to Politics Bear as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He didn't even really need a lighter, so he didn't carry one of those on himself. After managing to get a cigarette out (he really needed to buy some more), he simply lit it with a spark of flame that resonated from the tip of his finger. Magic was pretty useful, he didn't know how humans went about without it. He only checked the time about five times as he stood out there, smoking, and this may or may not be just stalling until his date. What did Sans know. 


	5. Standstill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> postdump on my account. check it out, i'll be posting some new content.

Sans made sure to check the time, many times, before he actually re-entered the bar. He checked the time, again, as he walked up, making sure he had that casual-perfect time he was so good at. 

He sat at his usual barstool, just as Grillby called last rounds, rousing the last couple patrons that got up, leaving their pay and tips before they left. It was fairly early for a closing time for Grillby, but he had a date. Sans just sat, and watched as Grillby wiped off the bar counter, cleaning up everything before moving to the tables and booths.

He'd only watched this cleanup procedure a couple times, and he was usually completely fucked up, or getting there. It was nice to soberly appreciate the domesticity of the actions the bartender took towards his bar. Actually, it was pretty boring.

He turned after a couple seconds of staring, tapping his fingers against the glossy counter of the bar, staring down at his grinning reflection. There was no doubt he'd ruin this night at least a little bit, and he pretty much hated that a lot. Oh well, what was a first date without fucking up a little? They were good enough friends already to laugh it off and keep going. At least he had that going for himself. 

He reached into his pocket to finger the items inside to be used, before just letting his hands rest in the folds of the worn, navy fabric. Hopefully the majority of the night would go as planned. 

As soon as Grillby finished up, Sans saw him walk over.

_"Sorry about the wait."_

"It's no big, Grillbz."

_"Have you any idea where we are to go?"_

"Actually, yeah. Unless you don't wanna go to a dry spot in Waterfall."

_"I don't see why not, if you can use one of those shortcuts you talk about."_

"If you wanna, but you might get a bit dizzy."

 _"Oh, I'm sure I can handle being a little... .... **Lightheaded.** "_ Sans chuckled at that one, standing up.

"I swear that I'm just rubbing off on you more and more."

_"You are. I hardly made puns before meeting you."_

"That's not exactly a good thing, yanno."

_"Oh well. I enjoy the puns, even if others don't."_

"I know that Papyrus secretly loves them."

_"I think you make a great pair."_

"He's a cool guy."

_"Yes, Sans, you tell me all the time while inebriated."_

"How classy and considerate of drunk me."

_"There was one occasion of which you were dancing on the back table, singing Nickelback, while swinging your shirt around."_

"Oddly enough.... I remember that."

_"And then the time you started bawling when Big Mouth said he'd gotten a job."_

"That, I don't remember."

 _"It was the day we all learned that skeletons could actually cry,"_ Grillby said, offering his arm out. Sans rested his hand on the other's elbow.

"You haven't seen Papyrus cry? Man."

_"I, personally, have seen both of you cry by now."_

"Well duh, you've known me for a while."

_"Yes, but we weren't friends in college. I simply remember one of your breakdowns in French."_

"Heh, yup. I was a wreck that last semester." 

_"I'm not going to ask."_

"Thanks." Sans didn't even start walking, and simply took a shortcut to the park bench. Most monsters don't know about that place. Plus, it was probably his favorite spot in Waterfall. It was a dry day. Well, dry enough for a fire monster to enjoy himself. Hopefully.

Dry in Waterfall wasn't very dry.


	6. whoops

Hey guys. 

For those of you following this fic.... sorry. I'm completely abandoning it.   
Well- not really, this is just as far as I was planning on going. But fear not! I have a sansby work in progress! Check out Cool as Black Ice. Somewhat slow burn, But not.... THAT slow. L8r sk8rs.

**Author's Note:**

> ahhhhhh it's kinda short, i promise the chapters will get longer as i get deeper content to post!


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